A computer program listing appendix containing the source code of a computer program that may be used with the present invention is incorporated herein by reference and appended hereto as one (1) original compact disk, and an identical copy thereof, containing a total of six (6) files as follows:
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automated and semi-automated pill counting systems. More particularly, the invention relates to a semi-automated pill counting system using digital imaging technology and image recognition software.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prescriptions are being issued at an ever-increasing rate due to a number of factors, including managed care""s focus on prescriptions as an alternative to inpatient care; an aging population; and increased consumer knowledge due, in large part, to direct-to-consumer advertising. Dispensed prescriptions are projected to reach three billion in 2001 and jump to four billion annually by 2004, with only a six percent increase in the number of graduating pharmacists over the same time period. As prescription volume and workload increases, the potential for error by overworked pharmacists increases as well, which has the undesirable effect of reducing patient confidence and overall safety. Furthermore, given the number of prescriptions dispensed and the average cost of each pill, even small error rates can result in large financial losses to both the pharmacist and the consumer.
Traditional manual pill counting methods involve pouring a roughly estimated quantity of pills onto a tray; sliding the pills from a first side of the tray to a second side in small, easily countable groups; and repeating until a desired pill count is reached, whereupon the pills are bottled and labeled for dispensation. As will be appreciated by those in the pharmacological arts, though suited for small pill counts or low numbers of prescriptions, these traditional methods are inefficiently time consuming for large pill counts or high volume dispensing.
Another drawback of time-consuming manual pill counting is that the more time a pharmacist spends counting pills, the less time he or she has available for direct patient contact and care, including educating the patient about the prescribed medicine. This is particularly unappealing to pharmacists who are unsatisfied counting pills after years of schooling and training, and would much prefer more meaningful direct interaction with their customers.
Sophisticated and efficient fully automated pill counting systems exist that are able to handle the mundane, repetitive counting function without significant error while freeing the pharmacist for more stimulating and rewarding activities. The SP200 system, manufactured and sold by ScriptPro LLC, for example, can dispense sixty or more prescriptions per hour, potentially freeing four or more pharmacists from full time counting duties. Furthermore, patient wait times are reduced even as their wait is made more productive by increased direct contact with their pharmacist.
Unfortunately, fully automated pill counting systems are typically not cost-effective for small pharmacies, so a need has arisen for smaller, semi-automated pill counting apparatuses. Such apparatuses use a variety of counting technologies. One existing technology, for example, first weighs a group of pills and then determines their number based upon an average pill weight. Unfortunately, this relatively primitive method is unacceptably error prone due to factors such as incorrect average pill weights, weight-altering residue on the scales or equipment, incorrect calibration, and pill manufacturing changes that affect pill weight. Furthermore, accurate dosing of a pill""s active ingredient does not necessarily translate into consistent combined active and inactive ingredient weight from pill to pill.
Another existing technology couples a light beam and a simple photosensor with a counter such that when a falling or moving pill breaks the light beam the counter is incremented. Unfortunately, these unsophisticated systems are typically unable to discriminate between broken pill fragments and whole pills, or close clusters of two or three pills that break the light beam overlappingly or almost simultaneously.
Due to the above-described and other problems in the art of automated pill counting, a need exists for an improved pill counting technology and apparatus.
The present invention solves the above-described and other problems and provides a distinct advance in the art of pill counting. More specifically, the present invention is a semi-automated pill counting system using digital imaging technology and image recognition software to facilitate more efficient, accurate, and cost-effective pill counting, thereby freeing the pharmacist from this mundane task to engage in more meaningful and direct customer interactions.
The preferred system comprises a light source; a modified pharmacist""s tray; a digital camera; and a personal computer (PC), with the PC storing and executing image recognition software. The light source provides light of a sufficient quality and intensity to ensure accurate counts. The camera is a conventional digital camera securely mounted over a work surface and coupled with the PC via an interface. The pharmacist""s tray provides an area upon which uncounted pills may be placed for viewing by the camera. The work surface includes features ensuring that the tray is consistently centered. The PC is a conventional personal computer with sufficient computing resources to store and execute the image recognition software. The PC also provides a user interface with the counting software. In another embodiment, depending upon design and application requirements, the image recognition software is stored and executed on dedicated hardware or firmware, which allows for a unitized or portable device. The preferred image recognition software is based upon a modified Hough Transform technique.
For example, given a prescription for eighty pills, a pharmacist first pours onto the tray a number of pills estimated to be sufficient to fill the prescription. Using the traditional pill counting method, the pharmacist would then manually count out eight groups of ten or sixteen groups of five. Using the present system, however, the pharmacist merely causes the digital camera to produce a digital image of the actual number of pills on the tray, whereupon the image is sent via the interface to the PC. The image recognition software executed by the PC counts the pills in the image; determines the number of pills, if any, that must be added or removed to arrive at the prescribed amount; and communicates that number to the pharmacist. For example, if eighty-seven pills are counted, the software instructs the pharmacist that seven pills should be removed and then verifies that the correct number remain. Thus, using the present invention, the pharmacist need perform only two steps rather than eight or sixteen or more. Less time is spent counting pills and more time is spent interacting with the customer. Furthermore, fewer counting errors are made, thereby reducing health risks and financial losses.
These and other novel features of the present invention are described in more detail in the section titled DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT, below.